Newport, KY - It was a great night for basketball Friday night as the Beechwood Tigers took on the Holy Cross Indians at Newport High School, the site for the 9th Region All ‘A’ Classic. This was the second semi-final game of the night in the tournament. The winner of this game would play tomorrow night at 7 p.m against the NCC Thoroughbreds.

Both of the teams that were on the floor tonight had the desire to win the game. Holy Cross looked excellent coming out of the gate. The Indians were led by the Nick Steenken’s strength in the paint and his fluid jump shot. Steenken ended up three of four from the three-point line on the night. The Tigers had their own powerful presence in the paint with their forward, Michael Romes, who tore up the inside for the Tigers. Romes battled inside and grabbed a team high four offensive rebounds. The score was 10-8 until Jim Ryan struck from beyond the arc, not once, but twice in a row giving Holy Cross a 14-10 lead. Beechwood played run and gun basketball and looked great in transition throughout the night. At the end of the 1st the score was 18-12.

In the 2nd both teams would come out shooting. The Indians Jim Ryan would catch fire hitting two more threes in the quarter giving him a total of four, but he was not finished. Beechwood guard Chase Moore would come up with an awesome steal and go to the hoop with a easy lay-in. That brought the score to 31-24 in favor of Holy Cross. The second half would start with the scoreboard reading, 34-28.

Beechwood got off to a fast start in the 3rd. Chase Moore and Michael Romes took over the offense for the Tigers and scored much of their team’s total points. The duo finished with 43 points between them. Tiger Kevin Mitts had a nice three-point play in the 3rd helping his Tigers tie up the game at 41-41 with 2:29 left. The game would go back and forth for the remainder of the game. At the end of the 3rd, the Indians led 45-43.

The 4th quarter would be an offensive explosion for both teams scoring their highest point totals in the game. Holy Cross received a huge lift from Nick Steenken in the 4th. Steenken played great under pressure and guided his team in the quarter. The Tigers would not be out-done in the quarter though. Chase Moore was determined to get to the final game in the All ‘A’ Classic. Moore hit a three over the top of two defenders to give the Tigers the lead 53-52. The Indians would come right back with a three of their own later as Nick Steenken hit from downtown to give the Indians the lead back at 54-53. The Tigers tried to claw their way back into the game, but were unsuccessful. Romes scored the final bucket for the Tigers with under a minute to go in the game. The Indians had some clutch free throw shooting by Drew Lantry in the end as the Indians held on to victory. Holy Cross had defeated the tough Beechwood Tigers and would play tomorrow night in the 9th Region All ‘A’ Finals.